Equity and excellence

Evidence for policy formulation to reduce the difference in PISA performance between Swedish speaking and Finnish speaking students in Finland

Satya Brink, Kari Nissinen, Jouni Vettenranta

2013. 92 s. 27 e. G047.

This publication is also available online.

This report examines the special characteristics of the Swedish education system in Finland and explores reasons for the differences between Swedish speaking and Finnish speaking students’ performance in PISA assessments. The main author, Dr. Satya Brink, is a distinguished international expert in policy relevant research and in translating complex research evidence and policy options for decision makers and the public. Consequently, this report offers a well-informed outside perspective on the merits and challenges of the Finnish comprehensive school with a particular emphasis on the lower performance of the Swedish speaking minority students, thus supplementing earlier national research into school achievement.

The report clearly points out that the equity of education is a key strength of the Finnish school system, but discusses also the differences in social, regional and linguistic contexts between the Finnish speaking and Swedish speaking sectors of basic education in Finland, which partly manifest themselves in the differences in student achievement. It discusses some individual, school and national policy strategies.

The report is closely related to the Finnish Education Evaluation Council reviews on Swedish speaking education in Finland. The report is published by the Finnish Institute for Educational Research in collaboration with the Evaluation Council.

Reports 47
ISBN 978-951-39-5275-4